Care home abusers: Daughters call for CCTV to be put in homes for elderly and vulnerable – story in the SUNDAY MIRROR newspaper

Joy

Kelly’s mum, who is in a care home, was being ill treated.

But when they complained staff said her mum was confused

So she and her sisters set up a secret video

Her mum’s care home abusers were caught on camera – and were recently given suspended jail sentences

When Joy Lewis was diagnosed with Parkinson’s and became unable to look after herself, her three daughters made the agonising decision to place her in a home.

But Joy, who also suffers from dementia and Alzheimer’s, couldn’t settle. She kept on crying and soon became covered in bed sores. However, when youngest daughter Kelly confronted staff, she was told her mum was just ‘confused.’

So Kelly and older daughters Michele and Teresa decided to set up a covert camera. After buying a spy camera that looked like a clock from Amazon, Kelly set it up in her mum’s room.

When they reviewed the footage, they were shocked by what they saw. Joy – ironically a dedicated former carer herself – was left for hours begging for food and water and the toilet. Staff were also not turning her in bed which was giving her sores. Sometimes she was calling for long periods of time for someone to come but her cries for help were ignored.

The family’s story in the Sunday Mirror

The family took the footage to the police and in May 2018 the former care workers at the home run by Farrington Care Homes Ltd – Teresa Cutts, Rebecca King and Joanne Hardstaff – were arrested. After admitting charges of ill treatment or neglect they were were given suspended jail sentences. The home has now closed down and Joy is in a new home where she is much happier.

The sisters decided to tell their story because they believe many vulnerable people are at risk of care home abuse and believe that CCTV should be mandatory in all care premises.

Author: Alison Smith-Squire

Alison Smith-Squire is a media agent selling stories to newspapers, magazines and TV for the ordinary person. She runs website Featureworld.co.uk and online writers' ezine, sellyourstoryuk.com
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